Newcastle 0 Chelsea 2Substitutes Eidur Gudjohnsen and Arjen Robben snatched victory for Chelsea in extra-time as Newcastle's League Cup misery continued.
The Icelandic international struck 10 minutes into the added period and his Dutch team-mate added a second with eight minutes remaining to help his side dump the Magpies out of the competition for the second time in four seasons.
Without a trophy in 35 years, Newcastle have made the competition a priority in recent times.
Had it not been for goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, who pulled off a string of fine saves, including one to keep out an 85th-minute Laurent Robert free-kick, it might have been they who went into the hat for the quarter-final draw.
But for the second time inside four days, they came up against an inspired goalkeeper, and in Gudjohnsen and Robben, men with the firepower to hurt sides.
Newcastle have now lost three of their last four games, two of them at St James' Park.
Graeme Souness' men took the field with the fall-out of their 4-1 drubbing by Fulham in the own backyard still settling on Tyneside, and there was little doubt their orders would have been based on a greater resilience at the back.
Souness, then, will have been absolutely furious to see defender Andy O'Brien, transposed from the centre to right-back, serve up the ball on a plate for Serbian striker Mateja Kezman with less than two minutes on the clock.
Kezman looked certain to take full advantage as he rounded Shay Given with ease, but his touch took him wide and the ball trickled across the face of goal.
The Magpies had marginally better of the remainder of the half as a much-changed Chelsea outfit lining up in a 4-3-3 formation created few problems.
Titus Bramble and Ronny Johnsen, with the help of O'Brien and Olivier Bernard, coped reasonably well with the threat of Kezman, Damien Duff and Joe Cole and it was the home side who started, after a slow beginning, to cause the problems.
The pace of wide men Craig Bellamy and Laurent Robert, as well as Jermaine Jenas' energy, helped to keep Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert involved, and both had chances to score.
Nicky Butt's evening came to an end at the break when he was found to be suffering from concussion and was replaced by Kieron Dyer, back after almost two months on the sidelines with a torn hamstring and with plenty to prove.
The newcomer slotted in alongside Jenas in the middle of the field as Newcastle continued in the same vein, building up neatly but lacking the killer final ball.
With Robben and and Frank Lampard having replaced Duff and Cole, the visitors had fresh impetus. But Newcastle stepped up a gear once again and Cudicini fumbled a Robert corner under pressure from Bramble before Kluivert shot wide on the turn after Dyer intercepted Wayne Bridge's weak clearance.
Robben was denied by Given's chest in injury time, but there was no avoiding the extra 30 minutes. Cudicini came to the rescue two minutes into extra-time when he turned away another Robert free-kick, and it was Given who was finally beaten in the 100th minute when Robben fed Gudjohnsen and he fired home off the foot of the post.
Robben got his name on the scoresheet with eight minutes remaining, rounding off a pacy run with a neat finish, and Newcastle's resistance was at an end.
NEWCASTLE: Given, O'Brien, Bramble, Johnsen, Bernard (Hughes 118), Bellamy, Butt (Dyer 45), Jenas, Robert, Shearer, Kluivert (Ameobi 105). Subs Not Used: Harper, Bowyer. Booked: Butt.
CHELSEA: Cudicini, Johnson, Terry, Gallas, Bridge, Paulo Ferreira, Tiago, Parker (Gudjohnsen 96), Duff (Robben 63), Kezman, Cole (Lampard 66). Subs Not Used: Cech, Huth. Booked: Tiago, Johnson, Cole. Goals: Gudjohnsen 100, Robben 112.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
